In one of the first letters between himself and Thomas Jefferson, John Adams writes of religion as one of the unifying factors during the American Revolution, signing of the Declaration of Independence, and throughout colonial America. While religious affiliations have steadily declined for the past two or three decades (reuters.com), faith has tied whole sections of a country together, raising armies for political figures, and is completely ingrained in the political system. Whether or not “the general principles of Christianity, in which all those Sects were United” are nearly as prominent as in 18th and 19th century colonial America insights both a gut negative reaction and a much slower, positive one. As mentioned above, faith has become criticized by the free voices the U.S. has within it, with the Enlightenment, and communications to outside philosophers are giving an awakening to imagination of a world outside of religion. God is obviously creeping away as people believe in a very possible, very human society. So no, religion splits far more often than it unites. But the strength of numbers in Christians shows extreme potential for a religious following to mass and shift, change and dictate much of what the U.S. can do, giving evidence to think of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian sects as completely unified entities unto themselves, so yes. Whether the flag or the cross takes precedent is another question.
until the Easter Holiday. This celebration, when compared to Puritanism is a stark opposite to what Puritans viewed the days before Lent. For Puritans, the days before Lent were supposed to be for prayer and reflection; Mardi Gras is the opposite. Now days, Mardi Gras has turned more away from the traditional and has been lost in translation with the growing popularity of flashing one's boobs to get plastic beads. While, indeed Mardi Gras is supposed to be a time of celebration, it is still a religious holiday as well. In many countries, especially in